Getting to Raja Ampat

[SteveM54]

I'm trying to plan a liveaboard trip (10-17 days on the "boats") to the Raja Ampat area for Jan. - Feb or March of '25.
My once in a life time trip !!!!

Starting in St. Louis, Mo.
Going through Seattle - Taipei -Jakarta - then Sorong.
That's 11,873 flight miles over 67 hours in airports - traveling alone.
Kind of "dicey" but do-able.
I'm concerned about being totally worn out from the ride just getting there (just hit 70) & then having to sleep for three days just to recover from the "jet lag".
So if anyone else has had this type of experience, please share your ideas with me as to:
1. Did you stop for a "day or three" somewhere & dive or tour or just rest or ????
2. What liveaboards did you like or not ? Found one that has a 7 day & then the next trip is 10 more days = 17 days back to back.
3. I have the time to add a week on the front end of this trip so ideas & comments would very much be appreciated.

I don't care about on the way home but on the to Raja Ampat - I'm worried about: delayed luggage, lost gear & just being wiped out.
Thanks

 

[Mr. Sunday]

Getting to Raja Ampat can be pretty brutal. I was pretty wrecked for the first few days from all the travel and lag on my last liveaboard in R4. My dive buddy actually skipped the first two days of diving.

While on that trip I made a mental note not to come straight onto an R4 liveaboard again.

On my next trip, I will either do a homestay on one of the islands or make a stop in Ambon for a few days of muck diving prior to a liveaboard.

 

[Indah]

Transnusa Airlines - Transnusa

Transnusa Aviation Mandiri

www.transnusa.co.id

New service.

 

[tarponchik]

Me and wife/buddy are about the same age as you are. We did the Raja Ampat trip in Nov 2022 with good stops for rest everywhere. We flew overnight from IAD to Istanbul and spent 3 nights there. Then off to Jakarta and spent 2 nights there. Then off to Sorong and spent a night there. And only the next afternoon we got onto our liveaboard. So we weren't jetlegged and allowed at least 24 hr time for flight delayed etc.

 

[cetacean]

@SteveM54

Given your route, I'm going to assuming you are flying EVA (the only airline that flies direct between Seattle and Taipei). Good airline...

Given that you will arrive early AM in TPE, and the connection to Jakarta (at least on EVA) is going to get you in around 1PM, you should have time to check into the airport hotel in Jakarta (terminal 2) for a solid 8-9 hours or so.

As @reubencahn mentioned above, take the direct Garuda flight to Sorong. Not only is the baggage allowance a little better, the reputation and safety record is significantly better than anumber of alternatives (they also tend to cancel their flights less).

What folks may not be aware of:
Years ago Garuda used to fly Honolulu to Bali direct (great flight, full of surfers). They have slowly been rebulding their international reputation to apply again for landing rights in the US. They currently run flights to Australia, the Middle East, Europe (Amsterdam) and many locations in Asia.

To be approved for landing rights in the US, you have to meet a certain safety standard. This standard is significantly higher than what many of other domestic airlines in Indonesia are held to.

This (to me) is the best reason to fly Garuda... having said this - I've probably flown most of the airlines in Indonesia at one time or another, including a number that don't exist anymore.

Getting to Sorong one morning earlier than your LOB departure should be fine. You will know (when you land in Jakarta) if your bags made it that far. If not, I would consider delaying my flight to Sorong to let my bags catch up to me (unless they are still sitting in the US - which may take more than a day to get to you).

I don't have too many complements for US-based airlines, however most of them now have text-based bag updates available (at checkin, at arrival, etc.). This means I know when I land if the bags made it with me (if flying United across the Pacific, as an example). Not sure if EVA has this service.

Sorong is a busy port & town - it's chaotic, hot, sometimes dusty, etc. - spending a day in Sorong (at the new Aston hotel - which is literally across from the aiport) is easy...

If I had a week on the front of this I would consider two options:
1. Spend 3-4 days diving in Lembeh (some of best muck diving in the world - much different than what you will see in RA). The logistics here are slightly more complex - from TPE, fly to Singapore, then Manado (may have to overnight in Singapore as the flight to Manado only goes 4 days a week). Singapore is great - relatively cheap, and the best food options in SE Asia). Flying from Manado to Sorong is straightforward (there is a 1.5 hour flight to Sorong every morning, except it's on Lion Air, which is notoriious for canceling flights and their safety record is "marginal."

2. The option (with better connections) is to fly from TPE to Bali, spend 4-5 days there (you can dive most of the island - all very different, and culturally potentially the most interesting island in Indonesia). From Bali it's a short flight to Jakarta (fly the afternoon before your flight to Sorong, which will be around midnight). Easy connection...

 

[cetacean]

Getting to Raja Ampat can be pretty brutal. I was pretty wrecked for the first few days from all the travel and lag on my last liveaboard in R4. My dive buddy actually skipped the first two days of diving.

While on that trip I made a mental note not to come straight onto an R4 liveaboard again.

On my next trip, I will either do a homestay on one of the islands or make a stop in Ambon for a few days of muck diving prior to a liveaboard.

Getting to R4 doesn't have to be "brutal" - stop in Singapore for 1 night, eat well, rest, etc.

The flight to Sorong is just past midnight - you give yourself 12-18 hours and it's much easier.

 

[cetacean]

Transnusa Airlines - Transnusa

Transnusa Aviation Mandiri

www.transnusa.co.id

New service.

@Indah

New route service is interesting, would like to see DPS-Ambon...)

 

[Dan]

Good info in this thread:

Traveling to Indonesia

I’d recommend getting to Sorong 2 days ahead to relax/unwind/get on local time before the LOB. I did Blue Manta in Dec 2022 and am doing White Manta in Jan 2025 - fantastic Op and boats:

White Manta Diving - Home

I travelled solo and it was fine - in fact, I enjoyed the travels to/from!

We are starting to book our international & domestic flights for our January trip.

For the domestic flights (CGK-SOQ & KNG-SOQ), we will be booking Garuda Airlines through tiket.com. I am whitelisting my new United Explorer credit card with them before I can use it for buying the domestic flights.

For the international flights, we plan to arrive in Jakarta on January 14, a day before boarding on White Manta in Sorong. We haven’t decided whether going with Singapore Airlines or EVA Air. Both airlines would arrive early enough in the day for a good 8 hour rest in Anara Hotel upstair (level 2) from CGK International arrival in Terminal 3. Then about an hour before midnight, we plan to check out from Anara hotel and walk upstairs to level 3 of Terminal 3 to check in to Garuda Airlines for red-eye 4-hour flight to Sorong.

This is one of many reasons I buy Garuda Airlines tickets as their boarding gates are in the Terminal 3. Other domestic airlines boarding gates are in domestic Terminal 2. We have to take a taxi or bus to go from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. There is SkyTrain available for that, but it doesn’t operate after 9PM.

When we arrive in Sorong, White Manta crew will be waiting for us. This logistical plan worked well in the past, including our last trip to Raja Ampat a couple months ago.

Trip Report - Raja Ampat 2024

I just came back from Raja Ampat on Blue Manta for 19-29 February 2024 trip. It’s my 10th time there and the best one, so far. The route for the 11 day trip is as shown, below. Table 1, below, shows the daily activities. And here’s the trip video: About Blue Manta You can check...

scubaboard.com

We may need to stay a night in Sorong on the 24th after disembarking White Manta in Triton Bay and one-way flight from Kaimana to Sorong with Wing Air. On the 25th Raja4Divers crew will pick us up at the hotel for a 3.5 hour boat ride to Pulau Pef.

See you in January!

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'm trying to plan a liveaboard trip (10-17 days on the "boats") to the Raja Ampat area for Jan. - Feb or March of '25.
My once in a life time trip !!!!

Starting in St. Louis, Mo.
Going through Seattle - Taipei -Jakarta - then Sorong.
That's 11,873 flight miles over 67 hours in airports - traveling alone.
Kind of "dicey" but do-able.
I'm concerned about being totally worn out from the ride just getting there (just hit 70) & then having to sleep for three days just to recover from the "jet lag".
So if anyone else has had this type of experience, please share your ideas with me as to:
1. Did you stop for a "day or three" somewhere & dive or tour or just rest or ????
2. What liveaboards did you like or not ? Found one that has a 7 day & then the next trip is 10 more days = 17 days back to back.
3. I have the time to add a week on the front end of this trip so ideas & comments would very much be appreciated.

I don't care about on the way home but on the to Raja Ampat - I'm worried about: delayed luggage, lost gear & just being wiped out.
Thanks

I'm confused as to why the trip to Jakarta is taking 67 hours.

There are shorter time frame trips.

Also, you aren't leaving for almost a year. It is too early to be booking your flights, unless, its because you are using points.

You should be able to get to Jakarta from Seattle in 24 hours, possibly even 21.

 

[also_anon_dc]

I'm confused as to why the trip to Jakarta is taking 67 hours.

I think OP is searching for flights directly from St Louis to Sorong? Like others have said, a better itinerary would be booking a flight from St Louis to Jakarta and then buying a separate domestic flight from Jakarta to Sorong that would allow you to rest/relax and move on to Sorong when you're ready.

 

[reubencahn]

@SteveM54

Given your route, I'm going to assuming you are flying EVA (the only airline that flies direct between Seattle and Taipei). Good airline...

Given that you will arrive early AM in TPE, and the connection to Jakarta (at least on EVA) is going to get you in around 1PM, you should have time to check into the airport hotel in Jakarta (terminal 2) for a solid 8-9 hours or so.

As @reubencahn mentioned above, take the direct Garuda flight to Sorong. Not only is the baggage allowance a little better, the reputation and safety record is significantly better than anumber of alternatives (they also tend to cancel their flights less).

What folks may not be aware of:
Years ago Garuda used to fly Honolulu to Bali direct (great flight, full of surfers). They have slowly been rebulding their international reputation to apply again for landing rights in the US. They currently run flights to Australia, the Middle East, Europe (Amsterdam) and many locations in Asia.

To be approved for landing rights in the US, you have to meet a certain safety standard. This standard is significantly higher than what many of other domestic airlines in Indonesia are held to.

This (to me) is the best reason to fly Garuda... having said this - I've probably flown most of the airlines in Indonesia at one time or another, including a number that don't exist anymore.

Getting to Sorong one morning earlier than your LOB departure should be fine. You will know (when you land in Jakarta) if your bags made it that far. If not, I would consider delaying my flight to Sorong to let my bags catch up to me (unless they are still sitting in the US - which may take more than a day to get to you).

I don't have too many complements for US-based airlines, however most of them now have text-based bag updates available (at checkin, at arrival, etc.). This means I know when I land if the bags made it with me (if flying United across the Pacific, as an example). Not sure if EVA has this service.

Sorong is a busy port & town - it's chaotic, hot, sometimes dusty, etc. - spending a day in Sorong (at the new Aston hotel - which is literally across from the aiport) is easy...

If I had a week on the front of this I would consider two options:
1. Spend 3-4 days diving in Lembeh (some of best muck diving in the world - much different than what you will see in RA). The logistics here are slightly more complex - from TPE, fly to Singapore, then Manado (may have to overnight in Singapore as the flight to Manado only goes 4 days a week). Singapore is great - relatively cheap, and the best food options in SE Asia). Flying from Manado to Sorong is straightforward (there is a 1.5 hour flight to Sorong every morning, except it's on Lion Air, which is notoriious for canceling flights and their safety record is "marginal."

2. The option (with better connections) is to fly from TPE to Bali, spend 4-5 days there (you can dive most of the island - all very different, and culturally potentially the most interesting island in Indonesia). From Bali it's a short flight to Jakarta (fly the afternoon before your flight to Sorong, which will be around midnight). Easy connection...

I would not connect to Manado through Singapore unless you want to spend a few days in Singapore first. With the demise of Silkair and its replacement by Scoot, you cannot interline baggage unless you have purchased the entire trip as one ticket through Singapore Air. That means you have to clear immigration, collect your bags, and check in to Scoot. Don't count on doing this during off hours using the automated bag check. The process is far from seamless. The Changi transfer desks that used to take care of all this for you will no longer do so. Post-pandemic, I've concluded that Jakarta is the easiest transfer point unless you want to spend time in Bali at the beginning of a trip.

If you're adding on a land stay, in addition to Lembeh and or Bali, I'd consider both Ambon and Raja itself. Papua Paradis accommodates stays of less than a week and has very good macro at several sites--though nowhere near Lembeh or Ambon's quality.

And stick an airtag in your checked bags. Provides peace of mind, and if your bags don't make a connection, you can direct the airline to them.